Meeting tonight on South Downtown I.F. Development Plan

The City of Idaho Falls Community Development Services Department will hold an informational meeting tonight with residents of the south downtown area and the public to talk about the Idaho Falls South Downtown Plan, a proactive planning document designed to guide development for the future in the south downtown area.

The meeting will be held at the Idaho Falls Library. The first meeting with residents will begin at 6 p.m. and the open house for the public will begin at 7 p.m. Both meetings will be held in Meeting Room Two.

In 2018, Idaho Smart Growth, in partnership with the Greater Idaho Falls Association of Realtors, conducted background research and initial public outreach for the Idaho Falls South Downtown Plan. Building on that work, the Community Development Services department formed the South Downtown Steering Committee, comprised of residents, landowners, developers, and interdepartmental city staff.

In April, a design charrette was conducted with the steering committee to formulate ideas to aid in the development of the area. The charrette allowed feedback that provided a framework for the draft plan. That framework will be the plan presented to residents and the public at tonight's meeting. Residents and the public are being asked to provide critical feedback and recommendations to be incorporated into the draft South Downtown Plan.

“The south downtown area’s central location and proximity to amenities makes it prime for reinvestment," said Community Development and Services Director Brad Cramer. "The South Downtown Plan is intended to be a proactive planning document which guides development in the area’s future. Guiding this evolution through a shared community vision is paramount to preserve the areas historic character and to facilitate positive business development.”

Stevens-Henager, SBA offer free mini-course

EIRMC ER nursing unit named No. 1 in HCA system

The emergency room staff at Eastern Idaho Regional Medical Center

Eastern Idaho Regional Medical Center's emergency department has been recognized as the best out of 185 HCA Healthcare hospitals nationwide. Nurses at EIRMC were recently recognized with the HCA Unit of Distinction award for driving excellence in clinical care and demonstrating outstanding performance in delivering compassionate, high-quality patient care.

“The Unit of Distinction Award is given only to the highest-performing ERs in HCA Healthcare,” said Matt Reeves, EIRMC's manager of Emergency Services. “Earning this award is a true acknowledgement of the outstanding caliber of emergency care that we deliver. It takes a high-performing team of nurses -- each demonstrating a deep level of commitment -- to achieve results like these.”

Idaho Falls Parks & Recreation to unveil survey results tonight

The Idaho Falls Parks & Recreation Department will roll out the results of their communitywide RECreate IF survey at a public meeting tonight at 7 p.m. at The Waterfront at Snake River Landing.

“This is important to our community because it gives us information that will help us craft RECreate IF, which is our strategic plan and our comprehensive master plan," said Interim Parks & Recreation Director P.J. Holm. "Together those plans will help us determine what, where and how to build for the future of Idaho Falls Parks & Recreation facilities.”

The survey was mailed to Idaho Falls community members in April, and garnered hundreds of community responses.  It was also available for people to take online, to provide their input and suggestions.

“The mailed surveys had a really great response, well beyond what we’d hoped, that will provide us with statistically valid data for our plans,” Holm said. “The online component was also important, as it gives us more of a qualitative understanding of the how the community feels. Both those pieces together give us a pretty complete view of the direction we should be heading.”

The meeting is open to the public. Results from the survey, and information about RECreate IF will also be posted on the department’s webpage, located at www.idahofallsidaho.gov and at www.ifparkplans.com.

Fall River Electric Co-op annual meeting set for Saturday

Fall River Electric Cooperative’s annual meeting for owner-members, featuring the theme “People, Power, Purpose,” is set for Saturday in Ashton and will highlight another outstanding year of achievements.

First established in 1938 by farm families around the Ashton area, the cooperative now boasts over 14,000 members and more than 17,000 meters that receive power transmitted over 2,300 miles of lines. Fall River’s service area includes all of Teton Valley, Island Park, West Yellowstone and rural portions of Fremont, Madison and Jefferson counties. It is one of only three electric cooperatives in eastern Idaho.

The annual meeting is free to all customers that receive power from Fall River Electric. The day will start with a free breakfast of pancakes, eggs, bacon, sausage, hash browns and a beverage, to be served from 8 a.m. to 10 a.m. inside North Fremont High School in Ashton. In celebration of the co-
op’s excellent year, the first 500 members attending will receive a free ceramic knife set with peeler. Attending members may also enter a drawing for a $1,000 energy credit as well as thousands of dollars in other prizes.

As a family event, Fall River’s annual meeting will feature kids’ activities including bucket truck rides, bounce houses, face painting and rides in the Fall River Propane train. Nearly two dozen vendor booths offering information and free prizes will be featured, too. Vendors include an RV dealer, financial and health care providers and local agencies. Smokey Bear will also be in attendance, courtesy of the Ashton district office of the Caribou-Targhee National Forest.

For the first time ever, Fall River will provide a free Medicare seminar, conducted by representatives of the Ballard Insurance agency.

During the annual business meeting, which starts at 10 a.m., owner-members will be finalizing the election of three board of director members from a field of ten candidates as well as a couple of proposed bylaw changes Members will also receive a financial report. In addition to the board election, Anita Decker, former executive director of the Northwest Public Power Administration will be a guest speaker during the business meeting.